REVIEW: Palisades ALIEN Signature Statue.

Manufacturer: Palisades

Released: 2005

The Palisades ALIEN statue is a large item, measuring a good 16 inches tall on its base. That’s the gross measurement of the whole assembly. It’s made of high quality polystone and the enormous base makes for a very weighty display piece. This is an older figure, from 2005 and getting a little hard to find now at a decent price.

While the size of the statue does help to deliver an item of quite some presence, it’s scattered throughout with numerous issues and problems that significantly detract from its otherwise impressive presentation.

As this is a statue and not a toy, there is no articulation to be found on the piece and once you have assembled it from its safe and secure place in its box, its rigidly fixed pose will either appeal or dismay you. The statue displays the creature in mid turn and not like anything seen in the movie; except maybe the one scene where the creature abruptly ignores Lambert and abruptly turns to face Parker; but in all actuality, it strikes no such pose in the movie as it does here, turning with its head tilted to one side. It’s an odd pose and not one we see elsewhere in other small scale 3D representations of the Alien.

Maybe it’s just trying to play a piano.

Starting with the head, there’s a noticeable abrupt drop off from the top of the carapace to the figure’s face. This lends a very square presentation to the profile of the figure’s head rather than the smooth, sweeping glide it should have. This design choice gives it a ‘bulldog’ like stunted look to figure’s head. Especially when compared to the face of the Alien which is prominently featured on the front of the box. The head is also mounted way too far forward on the neck, giving it an unbalanced look.

Other noticeable anomalies are present in the figure. The upper most dorsal appendage has a significant thickening at its base, more than would be seen elsewhere on other figures and the statue also demonstrates some quality issues as well. For some reason, the dye hasn’t been fully blended into the base material. As a result, an observable imperfection of considerable size is present on its left knee. I’m guessing this anomaly is limited to this sample only, but it’s not a good look for the general production run of the item.

Another questionable feature on the stature is its general finish. The entire form is dappled in a pockmark finish that is distributed throughout the figure. This treatment would be fine if it wasn’t so pronounced but it is prolifically applied everywhere on just about every ‘flat’ surface. Most questionable is the use of such finish found on the back of the head, which would normally be smooth and unblemished on other figures of the Alien.

That’s not to say all the detailing on the figure is bad – it’s just inconsistent. The hands are remarkably good, the torso is terrific and the limbs are also more than just serviceable in their presentation and proportions – minus the ubiquitous dappling found everywhere. The tail itself is a thing of great beauty and carries an impending sense of poise, movement and strength; almost calm and serpent like at the same time and yet conveys sweeping power as it describes an arc alongside the figure it is attached to.

Pegs attached to the feed of the figure make the use of the stand essential. The 9 inch diameter display stand is provided with a pair of holes and slots to seat the stature in place. It’s a terrific stand but its large circular footprint demands a lot of real estate and as the figure cannot be displayed independently without the stand, a decent amount of dedicated space is needed to present the figure.

As it is not possible to stand the figure on its own without the use of the stand, I guess you could cut the pegs off to display the figure independently – but I suspect that wouldn’t be desirable either.

Being an older figure from more than a decade ago and made of polystone ensures that this item is set for longevity well after other figures made of plastics start to perish and break. It’s just too bad that this representation of the Alien isn’t good enough to be the one left standing when other, much better sculpts will become frail during the passage of decades to come.

SCORE: 5/10

This statuette is overall surprisingly unsatisfying. Sure. Size does matter – but it’s not everything.